[Sketching14] Sketching in Hardware Update #1: Hotel, Dates/Times, Daycare, etc.

[Mike Kuniavsky]

[OK, the same message as you got yesterday, but to a proper mailing list. 
Please follow up to this list rather than the individual email addresses. 
-mk]

Hi. I'm very grateful and excited that you've agreed to come to Sketching. The 
following email is long. We know. Please read it, anyway. It has information in 
it that is going to be useful to you and a several things that we would like to 
know from you.

CONTENTS
- This mailing list
- Conference Hotel
- Conference Dates/Times
- Food preferences/restrictions
- Daycare
- Presentations
- T-shirts
- Bringing new technology?
- Contact information
- Thanks

THIS MAILING LIST
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This list has just the confirmed participants in the conference.

Based on past years' experience, expect a handful of updates before the 
conference. You should also feel free to the list, once it's set up, to 
coordinate transportation, hotel sharing or other activities, but please use it 
sparingly. As soon a the conference is over, I will roll the membership of this 
list into the general Sketching alumni list and this list will go away.

CONFERENCE HOTEL
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The conference hotel is:

Upstalsboom Hotel Friedrichshain
Gubener Straße 42
10243 Berlin
upstalsboom.de/hotel-friedrichshain
info.berlin at upstalsboom.de

The special rate is 75 Euro/night for a single or 80 Euro for a double, which 
we think will match or beat the rate of most other hotels at the time. We have 
30 rooms reserved, and after that you're on your own.

To get the special Sketching in Hardware rate the discount code is "sketch".

CONFERENCE DATES/TIMES
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Our tentative schedule will be:
Thursday, July 24: totally optional pre-event dinner. Location TBD.

Friday, July 25:
Breakfast: 8:30-9:30
Introduction: 9:30-10
Presentations: 10-5PM (with lunch served 12:30-2)
Dinner: 7PM (included in your conference fee, location TBD)

Saturday, July 26:
Breakfast: 8:30-9AM
Presentations: 9AM-1PM
Lunch: 1-3PM
Perhaps more presentations or another activity: 3-5PM
Dinner: 7PM (included in your conference fee, location TBD)

Sunday, July 27:
Breakfast: 8:30-9:00AM
Presentations: 9AM-noon
Lunch: noon-2PM
Secret activities: 2PM-5PM
Conference ends 5PM
Post-event drinks immediately after (location TBD).

If you are planning to fly in first thing on Friday please try to be at the 
event by 10AM. If you're leaving Sunday night, please try to hang out until 3PM 
or so.

FOOD PREFERENCES/RESTRICTIONS/GUESTS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We will try to accommodate a variety of food preferences, and there will be 
vegetarian options at all meals, but if you have additional food restrictions 
(allergies, preferences, etc.) please let us know ASAP so we can let the 
caterers and venues know.

If you would like to bring a guest to dinner, please let us know and we'll let 
you know what the cost is (generally around $50, but it varies and we're still 
in negotiations with the restaurants).

DAYCARE
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Although we will not be formally offering daycare, we will be using it since 
I'm bringing my two small children. The nice organizers of Thingscon, which 
just happened in Berlin, have connected us with a daycare provider. If you 
expect that you'll want or need daycare for your kids, let me know and we'll 
arrange it for all of us.

PRESENTATION TOPICS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
One of the unusual aspects of the Sketching conference is that everyone 
presents (yes, that means you). I would like everyone to give an 18 minute 
talk. The format is quite open and the content is up to you, but it should have 
two qualities:

1. It should be about something that is exciting to you RIGHT NOW.
2. It should be 18 minutes long, and no longer. We are going to be very strict 
about time limits.

If possible, we request that presentations should be on something that you 
haven't talked about elsewhere, and you should try to address this year's 
theme. If the thing you're really excited about doesn't fit the theme, though, 
that's fine, too.

PLEASE minimize biographical information. If you'd like to present a 
retrospective of your work to set the context, please keep it to 3 minutes, but 
the bulk of your presentation should be about something new or something old 
that's totally awesome. Think TED talk, not History Channel.

Likewise, please limit any video you show to 1 minute or less, unless it's so 
awesome that it can't be contained in 1 minute. In that case you get 3 minutes.

Past presentations have been on everything from reviews of recent research, to 
descriptions of specific projects, to demonstrations of new devices and 
software, to describing the work students have done, to impassioned challenges 
to the community.

Your audience will be technically sophisticated, but not necessarily engineers, 
so please calibrate the technical content of your presentations accordingly.

If two people from the same organization want to team up and present a single 
thing, that's fine and we will give you a little extra time, but please have 
both people present.

Likewise, if you'd like to tap the brainpower of the group in the form of a 
discussion question or panel discussion, send me your topic and I will try make 
room on the schedule. Past discussion topics have included the challenges of 
open source hardware and teaching physical computing.

IMPORTANT: please tell me what you're going to be talking about soon. Abstracts 
are not necessary, but a title and a one- or two-sentence description of what 
you're planning will help me plan the schedule.
Finally, tell me if you have preferences to speak in the morning or the 
afternoon, and I'll try to accommodate.

T-SHIRTS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Please get us your shirt size. If you give us a size, we'll get you a shirt 
that size. If you don't, we'll have to guess at your size, and there's a good 
chance we'll be wrong, especially if we've never seen you in person. So please 
send us your shirt size ASAP.

BRINGING NEW TECHNOLOGY?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Are you bringing things to show off? Please do! We want to see unannounced, 
pre-release, half-baked, experimental, totally great stuff. If you're wondering 
if it's ready, it is. Bring it.

CONTACT INFORMATION
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Throughout the conference, if you have any questions, please feel free to email 
me at mikek at sketching-in-hardware.com. If you need an urgent reply, my mobile 
phone number is +1-415-235-3468.

THANKS
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As mentioned above Justin Bakse and Greg Schomberg of Brand New School are 
designing Sketching in Hardware's website and t-shirt. Their work is awesome, 
as always. http://brandnewschool.com/

SUPER THANK YOU to Intel Labs and Microsoft Research Cambridge, our main 
sponsors this year.

If you, your company or your organization is interested in sponsoring Sketching 
this year, we still have several sponsorship opportunities available. Please 
contact Mike at mikek at sketching-in-hardware.com and I'll let you know what we 
have to offer.


-- 
Mike Kuniavsky
mikek at sketching-in-hardware.com